John Dodd's Grist Mill

Drawing of the Dodd Grist Mill, as it was in
1735. It stood in the spot where the Watsessing Field house is
located today.

This photo of the Grist Mill, taken before 1886.
The numbered photo is from the Archives of the First Presbyterian
Church in Orange. Michael J. Mateyka, of the Bloomfield
Historical Society, has found a matching photo in the collection
of Mr. Frederick Branch, and verifies that the photo was taken in
1884. The building that can be seen in the background remains a
mystery. It is clearly three stories high and is built in the
style of a school of that time.

The stars placed on this 1881 map are guesses at
the location of the Grist Mill. The building circled is at the
location of today's Franklin Branch Library and the New Jersey
Explorer's Museum.